Luck By Chance (2009) Review: A New Director Is Born

Farhan Akhtar is making hay while the sun shines and by george, it’s shining hard on him. From the drifting ad man I met in 1998 where I fell asleep on his couch talking late into the night at his Bandra home, Farhan has made his mark. But his luck is not by chance. The movie was a peek into his real life’s philosophy about claiming success rather than waiting for destiny to hand it over. Luck By Chance is a swan song for a club I had started a while back of which I am the president – THE L.O.S.A (League Of Struggling Actors).

It capitalizes on the usual bollywood formulae — cameo appearances by the top shelf of the film industry (a trend started off by Farah Khan, followed by Yash Raj); behind-the-scenes of the film industry strugglers looking for that ‘big break’ (also started with Om Shanti Om).

And this trend can be pulled off only by the most influential in the industry as getting dates from the big stars even for cameos, is no mean task.

Farhan and company certainly established their Bollywood Czar status through this film.

The movie is simple and well executed. No fuss, a lot of truths about the behaviour of the film industry and a straight forward plot.

A few things can happen when you watch this film — you’ll enjoy some great acting by Konkana Sen; begin to like Farhan (not for his voice or dancing); learn about the fake and mercenary nature of people in the film industry.

The songs do not lead here. It is purely the story line.

The presence of Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Hritik Roshan, Isha Sharvani (very Barbie) and Sanjay Kapoor were pretty much insignificant for their marquee value but did justice to the film industry characters they depicted very convincingly.

On the bull horn for the first time Zoya Akhtar is set to do more for sure. This seemed like a good training film and she did a good job of it.

A new film director is born and I look forward to more from her.

Overall, Luck By Chance is a film worth watching with your buddies, or if you are a closet member of L.O.S.A, a theater fan, or just a film buff.

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